An Interview with Kingston’s Social Worker and Activist Extraordinaire Amy Kapes

We sat down with Amy Kapes (she/her) to chat about the incredible work she’s doing in our community as well as what motivates her, her biggest passions, and what she’s most excited about this fall. TMI Project will honor Amy with an Agents of Change award at our 2018 Voices in Action Benefit & Storytelling Showcase on September 28th. Read on for the Q & A!

TMI Project: What does being honored as a TMI Project Agent of Change mean to you?

AK: It means I am doing my job as a social worker, community member, white person and as a human being! I am grateful for the recognition and appreciate the acknowledgment but, honestly, struggle with being “honored” for doing what I believe I should be doing in all of those roles.

TMI Project:What would you say most motivates you to do what you do?  What are you most excited or passionate about? What are the goals you most want to accomplish in your work, the goals you hold personally?

AK:What motivates me most to do what I do is the kids! They deserve to grow up in such a better world than the one we’re living in right now and to see them struggle, socially, emotionally, financially in ways that feel unnecessary and unfair is both heartbreaking and enraging….and provides infinite fuel.

I am most excited and passionate about the potential and power of positive personal and political change. And creating opportunities for that change. It’s about hope, community, education, empowerment, and honest conversations, along with groups like TMI Project and Radio Kingston that are facilitating these conversations. The Kingston High School book study on “So You Want to Talk About Race” (which I’m hoping can become a community-wide read), about the senior class (I am the senior class team social worker), is an example of this.

The goals I most want to accomplish personally and professionally are the same: to continue to advocate, educate, learn, grow, challenge, confront and “be the change” I want to see in the world consistently, compassionately, optimistically and effectively. And to become fluent in Spanish!

TMI Project:Did you have any life-changing experiences that put you on the path that led you to be doing what you’re doing today?  Tell us about them.

AK:I worked in a long-term residential substance abuse treatment program at the beginning of my career and was profoundly impacted by the experience. It was not what inspired me to become a social worker or activist because I was already both, but it was the greatest example I had experienced of the effects and intersection of trauma and oppression, the gravity of hate, hope and healing, and of the capacity of the human heart to hold them all.  

After that experience, I shifted to working in prevention with teenagers because I felt like my efforts would be best spent trying to help them avoid or at least navigate the stresses and struggles that prompt so many people to try to escape through drugs/alcohol at that age.

TMI Project:Did you have any key mentors or people who deeply influenced who you are, what you believe in and what you’re committed to in your work and life?  Tell us about them.

AK:I have been lucky enough to work with phenomenal clinicians, professors, activists, colleagues and supervisors, some whom have deeply influenced my work, but overall it has been my clients and students who have taught me the most and reinforce my commitment every day.

TMI Project:What’s next for you in your work in our Hudson Valley community?  What are you looking forward to?

AK:The first week in October, the Kingston High School GSA will host national superstars Celeste Lecense and Ryan Amador for the Future Perfect Project which helps develop student voice and positive self-expression through songwriting and storytelling.  My co-advisor, Bill Tubby and I couldn’t be more excited to offer KHS kids this opportunity!

ABOUT AMY KAPES

Amy Kapes has worked as a social worker at Kingston High School for the past 12 years. She previously worked in substance abuse treatment, community organizing, positive youth development, and prevention education. She is the advisor for the Students Against Violence Initiative (SAVI), a co-advisor for the Gay Straight Alliance, a Dignity Act Coordinator, the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) coach and participates on many school and district wide committees/initiatives. She has facilitated partnerships and projects between KHS and several local community agencies/organizations, including TMI Project. Amy believes passionately in supporting, educating and empowering today’s youth and is grateful to work in a district and community that shares those values.

Suicide prevention is personal to me

My heart goes out to Kate Spade, Anthony Bourdain and all people struggling and sometimes losing their fight with depression, the invisible disease.

Before I recovered from active alcoholism and was properly treated for clinical depression, I spent years struggling with suicidal ideation. It started when I was 11 and relentlessly played in the background of my mind until my early 30s, sometimes at a quiet hum, other times screaming for attention. The pain was unbearable. The desire for relief outweighed any thoughts of the future. I’m grateful I had support from family and friends as I struggled to find the right combination of treatments to finally get relief from my depression. I know I am lucky to be alive. My personal background fuels my dedication to creating effective suicide prevention programs.

We know suicide is on the rise in every state nationwide. Depression and addiction are not the only contributing factors. Living in the face of hatred and oppression and other life circumstance can play a part. Regardless of what’s inspiring our thoughts, the message is clear: it remains taboo to talk about suicide. But, this issue is reaching epidemic proportions and silence can be deadly. We need to talk openly about surviving thoughts of suicide so others who may still be struggling know they aren’t alone, and if they hold on, they can find relief.

Research shows that celebrity suicides can inspire “copycats” or suicide contagion. At TMI Project, we feel it’s our responsibility to generate positive contagion through true storytelling. We know our personal stories have the power to eradicate stigma, take people out of isolation and inspire hope in others. In the wake of all the sad news last week, we are expanding our search for stories from LGBTQ people who have a personal story to tell about suicide. TMI Project and The Trevor Project are teaming up to bring a group, all expenses paid, to NYC in November for a memoir writing and storytelling workshop, which will culminate in a public presentation aimed at spreading the power of positive contagion.

If you have a story of survival and courage, join us. Inspire the next generation of young people to live their lives, no matter what the circumstances.

SHARE YOUR STORY

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please call one of the numbers below:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
The Trevor Project Lifeline: 866-488-7386
Mental Health Association in Ulster County: 845-339-9090

In gratitude,
Eva Tenuto
Co-founder & Executive Director, TMI Project

Working Together to Shape Boys into Great Young Men

The Story of TMI Project’s Partnership with Coach Jeramie Collins

After Tony Porter of A Call to Men and I decided we wanted to work with high school football players and document the process, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that Jeramie Collins coach of the Kingston High School football team was the man to turn to.

TMI Project storytellers had shared the stage with Coach Collins’ football players at a One Billion Rising event in Kingston two years earlier where TMI Project storytellers relayed personal stories about surviving domestic violence and Coach Collins’ players were recognized for their commitment to standing up against violence against women. This was the first time I had heard of a football coach getting his team involved in social justice and activism.

The following year, Tony presented at Ulster County Community College for Domestic Violence Awareness Day where I sat in the front row. I looked across the aisle and, there he was again. Coach Collins with a few of his football players were listening to Tony talk about the cultural expectations of masculinity. I was impressed. Not only did the coach get his players to attend, he also encouraged them to participate. He was clearly dedicated to shaping these boys into great young men.

I asked Coach Collins to partner with TMI Project and A Call to Men. He was on board without hesitation from the moment I posed the idea. Within 24 hours he had approval from the school’s principal and buy-in from the other coaches.

As you can imagine, getting a bunch of teen boys to share their emotional “TMI” stories has some inherent challenges. But Coach Collins doesn’t give up. He keeps encouraging his students to show up and he always models emotional courage. He’s shared his own stories in every workshop, performed alongside his students, and he let all 60 players know that he tends to cry easily and there’s nothing wrong with that. TMI Project is honored to recognize Coach Jeramie Collins for being a powerful example, and for always encouraging young men to bravely share their stories and have the courage to speak up in the face of violence against girls and women.

TMI Project is honoring Coach Collins, along with activist Tony Porter and three other Hudson Valley leaders and change-makers, on September 28th, 2017 at Voices in Action: Community Outreach Showcase & Fundraiser. We hope you will join us!

With gratitude,

Eva Tenuto

Working Together to Tell Black Stories & Inspire Social Action

The Story of Callie Jayne’s Partnership with TMI Project

When TMI Project started working on Black Stories Matter, our project that seeks to raise awareness around issues of anti-Black racism, inequality and injustice through true storytelling, we knew that it was critical that we create a program that not only impacted people while they were sitting in their seats in the theater but also spurred them to action after the show was over. We knew we could create the stories but we needed the right partner for the follow-through. We approached Callie Jayne from Citizen Action about a partnership and she was eager to jump on board and incite a true culture-shift in our Hudson Valley community.

I remember going to her off​​​​ice one day for an initial meeting. She was juggling a million things but she graciously took the time to watch the short video we had created with my iPhone during a recent rehearsal. When she’d finished watching, with tears in her eyes she said, “Okay, we can pass out flyers when we go door-knocking. Do you have anyone phone banking for you? How can we make sure the neighborhoods that are often forgotten about find out about this and have access to this show?” She was all action.

Callie helped us navigate all the logistics leading up to our first Black Stories Matter show, dissecting the complexities of decision-making around an event about race in Kingston’s mostly segregated community. She helped us spread the world and included outreach in her local activism. And she was there the night of the show with a table in the lobby where people could register to vote and sign up to take action in our community.

TMI Project’s work with Callie has just begun. We know we have social justice movement building in our shared future and look forward to collaborating again and again. The Hudson Valley is blessed to have a force like Callie Jayne, fighting for our rights every day. She’s relentless and passionate, and we are honored to recognize her as a Voices in Action Agent of Change.

TMI Project is honoring Callie, along with activist Tony Porter and three other Hudson Valley leaders and activists, on September 28th, 2017 at Voices in Action: Community Outreach Showcase & Fundraiser. We hope you will join us!

With gratitude,

Eva Tenuto

Working Together to Save Lives

The Story of TMI Project’s Partnership with Elise Gold and The Maya Gold Foundation

The story of how TMI Project came to work with Elise Gold was hard for me to write. Elise and I shared the dance floor in a local African dance class a few times and had some friends in common, but we didn’t get to know each other until she co-founded The Maya Gold Foundation after tragically losing her 15-year-old daughter Maya to suicide on October 2nd, 2015. I was deeply touched when I read about the foundation after it launched. I learned about her and her husband Mathew’s deep commitment to speaking about their experience, regardless of how painful, in hopes that in sharing their story they would raise awareness about teen suicide prevention and potentially save others from their daughter’s fate.

In 2016, The Maya Gold Foundation offered TMI Project a grant for a new program called, Our Bodies Talk Back. Through this program, we work with high school and college students to help them tell the stories of their experiences with sexual abuse, harassment, and objectification, some of which Maya had been facing prior to her suicide. TMI Project and The Maya Gold Foundation aim to help young adults and teens who’ve dealt with such issues to move out of isolation. We help them process their trauma among others who can identify, and then share their stories with a peer group who can also benefit from knowing they’re not alone.

When I asked Elise if she would accept this award she humbly said, “But I’m not the only one doing this work, it’s everyone at The Maya Gold Foundation.” This sentiment perfectly represents Elise’s collaborative spirit and her thoughtfulness. TMI Project is honored to recognize Elise Gold as a Voices in Action Agent of Change. We offer her this award as a symbol of her courage to share what no one should have to and her unwavering dedication to all teens facing struggle today. As we honor Elise, we also honor Maya’s father Mathew, her brother Adin, everyone at The Maya Gold Foundation and, of course, Maya herself.  

TMI Project is honoring Elise, along with activist Tony Porter and three other Hudson Valley leaders and activists, on September 28th, 2017 at Voices in Action: Community Outreach Showcase & Fundraiser. We hope you will join us!

With gratitude,

Eva Tenuto

Working Together to Destigmatize Mental Illness

The Story of TMI Project & Denise Ranaghan of the Mental Health Association of Ulster County’s 5-Year Partnership

TMI Project’s work is all about getting people to divulge their deepest secrets. So it should be no surprise that neither Sari Botton, TMI Project’s editorial director, or I have a propensity for small talk. In fact, we both find networking torturous. Yet, at one particular women’s schmooze-fest in the early days of TMI Project we went around the room introducing ourselves and discovered that we were sitting across from Denise Ranaghan, Director of Wellness Services at the Mental Health Association of Ulster County (MHA). We hit it off immediately. When she heard about what we do–we use memoir writing and true storytelling to raise awareness about and amplify the voices of populations who often go unheard– and we heard about her passion for destigmatizing mental illness, we knew that we were destined to partner.

Flash forward 5 years later. Since 2012, with Denise’s support and partnership, twice a year TMI Project has offered 10-week memoir writing and true storytelling workshops specially tailored to meet the needs of MHA’s population of adults with mental illness. Our partnership with this peer-based organization, where a portion of the staff are people who have recovered from or accommodated for mental illness, is designed to destigmatize mental illness while empowering participants to work toward their recovery. In 2016, a documentary about this partnership entitled Vicarious Resilience was shot by North Guild Films and will be released later this year. The documentary follows eight participants as they went through our workshop, from the first session, where many expressed doubts and trepidation, to the final storytelling performance before an audience of over 100, and a final follow-up session where participants voiced the ways in which they experienced positive transformation.

Denise has been with TMI Project every step of the way. Not only has she been our liaison to MHA, she’s sat in on nearly every workshop we’ve taught there and joined us in outside workshops to offer therapeutic support.

Ellen Pendagar, CEO of MHA, has said repeatedly that the partnership with TMI Project has been the organization’s best stigma-busting program to date, an accomplishment we would not have been able to achieve without Denise’s passion and dedication. She empowers her clients by giving them a platform to tell their own stories. She is wholeheartedly committed to ensuring that those who live with mental illness are able to do so with pride and dignity. And for that, we are honored to recognize Denise Ranaghan with a Voices in Action Agent of Change Award.

TMI Project is honoring Denise, along with activist Tony Porter and three other Hudson Valley leaders and change-makers, on September 28th, 2017 at Voices in Action: Community Outreach Showcase & Fundraiser. We hope you will join us!

With gratitude,

Eva Tenuto

Why We’re Honoring Tony Porter at Voices in Action

Sometime in 2014, I stumbled across Tony Porter’s 2010 TED Talk (founder of A Call to Men). I was immediately drawn in by his ability to share what we at TMI Project call the TMI parts of his story, the parts most people usually leave out because of shame and embarrassment. I knew he understood how powerful storytelling could be for social justice movement building when he concluded the talk by saying, “My liberation as a man is tied to your liberation as a woman.” I also knew I wanted to work with him someday. What I didn’t know was that day was not so far off in the future.

In 2015, Tony presented at Ulster County Community College for Domestic Violence Awareness Day. I sat in the front row. Across the aisle was Coach Jeramie Collins from Kingston High School who brought a few of his football players to listen to Tony talk about the cultural expectations of masculinity. I watched Tony transform the room and inspire the boys and men in attendance to want to live fuller lives, to access their authentic selves, and speak up in the face of violence against women. I was impressed by the way he worked the room and how engaged the men were by the end of the presentation. What, I wondered, would they all do differently when they went home? How would they know how to alter behaviors so ingrained in them? It occurred to me that presenting TMI Project’s methodology to interested boys and men after Tony provided context and inspiration could be very powerful. Over the next year, Tony and brainstormed ways we might work together with high school football players and document the process.

In 2016, TMI Project partnered with A Call to Men, Stockade Works, and the Kingston High School Football Team under the guidance of  Coach Jeramie Collins to create a documentary. The football players, after working with Mr. Porter to learn about “The Man Box,” would participate in a TMI Project memoir writing and storytelling workshop to confront a hyper-masculine culture and redefine what it means to be men. That fall, Tony presented to the varsity and junior varsity football teams. They were engaged and participated willingly. However, when it came time to sign up for the writing workshop, not one student raised their hand. The hyper-masculine culture we were working to confront head-on led to our first challenge: the students could not admit, in front of one another, that they had any desire to write about their experiences.

Over the next few weeks Coach Collins worked to engage the students privately, and five young men stepped forward to participate. Of the five, two students named Zac and Gabe completed the workshop. In the spring of 2017, the pair presented their stories to all of the players. As we had hoped, peer influence worked and eight more students signed on for the next TMI Project workshop. In June 2017, Tony revisited Kingston High School to meet with all of the students who committed to complete the writing workshop and launch the new series. Every student there said they signed up because they were inspired by hearing Zac and Gabe share their stories and they wanted to lead by example, too.  We are eager to capture the experiences of these brave young men and put their stories into the world, and inspire an infinite number of their peers to step outside “The Man Box” and redefine what it means to be a man.

Tony has been working passionately and diligently to get good men to speak up in the face of violence against women for decades. His vision? A world where all boys and men are loving and respectful and all girls and women are valued and safe. We’re so honored to be able to recognize his work in transforming the cultural expectations of masculinity. Considering the state of the country and the world, I can’t think of anything more important.

TMI Project is honoring Tony Porter along with four local Hudson Valley leaders and change-makers on September 28th, 2017 at Voices in Action: Community Outreach Showcase & Fundraiser. We hope you will join us!

With gratitude,
Eva Tenuto

TMI teams up with Longreads

Longreads, founded in 2009, is dedicated to helping people find and share the best storytelling in the world. They feature nonfiction and fiction over 1,500 words, and many of the stories come from their community’s recommendations. In an exclusive collaboration with TMI Project, Longreads will occasionally publish selected stories from TMI Project participants. Check out the latest edition by Vietnam veteran Ray Cocks entitled “From a Hawk to a Dove,” edited by Sari Botton.

Join TMI Project & Cronin Gallery for #HVGives Day | May 17th

TMI Project is thrilled to join nonprofits across the Hudson Valley to participate in Hudson Valley Gives, our region’s second annual Day of Giving, to be held Wednesday, May 17, 2017. Fueled by the power of social media, Hudson Valley Gives united nonprofits in a call to action to raise critical funds we need to make our communities better places to live, work, play and serve.

We are working in partnership with Cronin Contemporary on a truly unique #HVGives Day Campaign that will include live-streaming of artist Ryan Cronin painting a mural in NewPaltz. We’ll also be featuring five TMI Project Storytellers who will be sharing their stories via Facebook Live from 11am-3pm.

Cronin Contemporary, at Water Street Market, is pleased to announce their new initiative, 12 Months of Giving, to support the work of Go Doc Go and TMI Project, two separate local not-for-profits with a common mission to be agents of change.

Go Doc Go (GDG) is a global women’s health care initiative based in the Hudson Valley that establishes and maintains cervical cancer screening programs around the globe. GDG’s founder, Dr. Maggie Carpenter, and her team have successfully established five programs in Ethiopia, Senegal and Haiti since 2014.

TMI Project offers transformative memoir workshops and performances that invite storytellers and audience members to explore new perspectives. TMI Project envisions a world where true storytelling is an agent of change; where, through the sharing of radically candid, true, personal narratives, everyone—storytellers and listeners alike—can become empowered, release shame and stigma, and replace old understandings with new ones. They aim to incite social, legal, and political change by arming activists with the skills needed to be captivating storytellers, and by amplifying the voices of populations whose stories often go unheard.

Artist Ryan Cronin, of Cronin Contemporary, has established this 12 Months of Giving Campaign as a charitable arm of his gallery, to give back to community causes close to his heart.  Each year, different charities will  be chosen to be beneficiaries of the gallery’s fundraising campaigns. “Giving is a cornerstone of our programming and we don’t want our outreach to be a one-off. We are committing to both projects over the next twelve months to be their champions,” said Cronin. “We are invested in doing business in a different way, one that is not just about our profitability, but in a way that supports other organizations who are working toward the greater good. We also want to partner with organizations that are headed-up by people we believe in. We have watched both programs grow from the early stages and have witnessed their drive, passion, and commitment. Their dedication is nothing less than contagious.”

12 Months of Giving will officially kick off on May 17th, as part of Hudson Valley Gives, a 24-hour online fundraiser with HUNDREDS of nonprofit participants in seven Hudson Valley counties. #HVGives is a day of giving fueled by passion, collaboration and the power of social media, spear-headed by the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan. From 12:01 am to 11:59 pm on May 17, our audience will be able to experience live streaming of the artist painting a mural on Schatzi’s Pub in New Paltz, live readings from TMI Project’s storytellers and founders, and a feed from Go Doc Go who will be on the ground working in Senegal. “Our audience will be able to be in the moment with us,” said Cronin, “We want to use the platform to immerse our audience in our process and to give them insight into why we do what we do. #HVGives is a digital telethon experience. It is an easy way to bring out the champion in each of us because we all have the potential to be agents of change when we stand alongside one another.”

For more information about 12 Months of Giving, visit

http://www.cronincontemporary.com

For more information about Go Doc Go, visit http://www.GoDocGo.org

Black Stories Matter

BY EVA TENUTO
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TMI PROJECT

Yesterday, on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, TMI Project participated in an amazing initiative, Writers Resist. “Writers Resist is a national network of writers driven to defend the ideals of a free, just and compassionate democratic society.”  Events took place all over the nation and in countries around the world. The local event that we participated in was held at The Bearsville Theater in Woodstock NY. The house was packed all afternoon. Every writer/reader/performer brought something important to the stage. The day left us feeling connected, and in turn, hopeful.

After our set was over, I was asked if my story/announcement was anywhere in print. It is here below.

If you would like to hear Tameka Ramsey’s story, please join us at Black Stories Matter, in Kingston NY at 7:30 pm on Saturday, March 25th. Location TBD. Save the date. Details to follow.

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TMI Project is a non profit organization offering transformative memoir writing workshops and performances. We believe that when storytellers divulge the parts of their stories that they usually leave out — the parts they are too ashamed or embarrassed to share, they become agents of change, fostering greater understanding and compassion among people. Our work is intentionally transformational and used to incite social change.

Since 2010, TMI Project has worked with incarcerated teens, teen moms, veterans, international gender activists, adults with mental illness, domestic violence survivors and many other populations who don’t often have a chance to tell their stories or be heard. TMI Project’s work has impacted the lives of the more than 1,400 people who have participated in our workshops and more than 12,000 people who have listened to our stories.

Now, as an organization, TMI Project is addressing the issue of racism in America.

We started talking about how our organization could respond to this issue in 2012 after Trayvon Martin was brutally murdered at 17 years old. We had many brainstorming sessions with one of our board members, Tameka Ramsey, about how we could participate in the solution. But our organization was young and we didn’t yet have the capacity and it got put on the back burner, again and again.

Then Eric Garner was killed. Then Michael Brown was killed. Then 12 year old Tamir Rice was killed while playing on the playground. Have you ever seen pictures of Tamir Rice? I have and he resembles my nephew, Miles, the child who stole my heart the second he was born.

A few weeks after Tamir was senselessly murdered by Cleveland police officers, I was taking my then nine-year-old nephew Miles and his friend John to one of those horrible bouncy parks in the mall. Like Tamir, Miles is an adorable brown boy with sweet brown eyes and irresistible cheeks. His friend John is equally cute with blond hair and blue eyes and about a head shorter than Miles. Miles is tall for his age.

In the car ride over, they talked seriously about Pokémon, speaking a language I couldn’t understand, and snacking on fist fulls of Cheez-Its. When we arrived, they had to be reminded to be aware of parking lot traffic, as they carelessly bounded out of the car. They entered the mall in true little-boy spirit, jumping from one colored floor tile to another, trying not to land on any white ones (or in their world, trying not to fall into the red-hot lava). When we passed Citizen’s Bank they thought it was funny to rename it Cheez-It Bank. Both boys pulled up the hoods of their sweatshirts, stuffed their hands in their pockets to look like they were carrying guns, ran up to the bank entrance for a pretend stick-up and yelled, “Give me all your Cheez-Its!” Then they quickly ran away in side splitting hysterics. While watching them dive head first into what should have been a carefree world of make believe, my heart dropped. Tamir was killed while playing with a fake gun on the playground.

Miles and John started to run away. They looked behind to see if I was going to let them go any further. On other outings, I’d often let them walk far ahead, as long as I could see them, so they could feel independent. But on this particular day I stopped them in their tracks.

“Boys, come back.” As they walked toward me, I had my first glimpse at the way the world would soon be receiving Miles as he transitioned from a cute little brown boy to a young strong black teenager. His sweatshirt all of a sudden a hoodie. His existence, no matter how innocent, somehow perceived as a threat. “Listen to me. This is important.” I waited until Miles was looking directly at me. “You can never pretend to be carrying a gun. Ever. A little boy was just killed by a police officer and all he was doing was playing with a fake gun on the playground.” This information was received with the disgust it deserves, the alarm we no longer have because of the frequency with which we hear these stories. But this was their first story. They could not believe their ears. “A police officer killed a kid?” Miles asked. “I thought they were supposed to protect us.”

As kids do, they quickly forgot what I had told them and as soon as we reached the horrible bouncy park, refocused their energy on a game of tag. But I couldn’t let it go. Did I do the right thing? Is there anything I can teach him that will actually protect him?

Be strong. Be quiet. Be submissive to authority. Stand your ground. Don’t ever break the law, not even a little bit. Don’t play that game. Don’t wear that sweatshirt or drive that car or listen to that music.

In the end, none of it matters because black boys aren’t being killed because of their fake guns or sweatshirts. They’re being killed because they’re black. Will there ever be a generation of black children who can grow up in this country and actually experience what it means to be free? Freedom to play, explore, come into oneself, to thrive, to be safe?

After Tamir Rice there was Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, the six women and three men gunned down in their place of workshop in South Carolina, Sandra Bland, Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, among countless others.

Tameka and I met again, with fear for the future and an overwhelming feeling of powerlessness. After many conversations, more brainstorming, one Sunday school session and a baptist church service, we partnered with everyone on staff at TMI Project, created a diverse committee and launched Black Stories Matter.

Black Stories Matter is TMI Project’s way to participate as an organization in the national outcry of injustice. #blackstoriesmatter will be a digital campaign, so we can use our platform to expose inequality and injustice rapidly and frequently through true storytelling. It will also be a live event, featuring the stories of 10 writers of color, held on March 25th at 7:30pm in Kingston, NY. We’re still confirming the location but please save the date. We hope you attend and listen. Listen with your child-self, like you are hearing your first story of injustice, and let yourself feel the outrage it deserves. Let the stories call you to action.

White people don’t talk about race because we’re afraid we’ll get unintentionally caught, that we will uncover our own discreet racism by saying the wrong thing, that our blind spots will be pointed out. I think the best thing we can do is welcome the insight, be willing to view our unintentionally racists points of view and then work actively to replace them with informed knowledge, deepened compassion and active commitment to work for justice for all. It’s time to speak up. Take risks. Let go of privilege. Use what’s left to a eradicate racism. Fight for black lives. They matter. They wholeheartedly matter.

Here, to share an excerpt of one of her stories, is Tameka Ramsey, whose leadership has helped bring this initiative to fruition.

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By February 1st our website will be set up to accept story submissions from around the country for our digital campaign. Stay tuned! www.tmiproject.org

This initiative would not be possible without the partnership of Alliance of Families for Justice, Center for Creative Education, Pointe of Praise Church, Hudson Valley Families Against Mass Incarceration and ENJN. If you are interested in partnering or getting involved, please email blackstoriesmatter@tmiproject.org.